Bridging the Communication Gap from Anxiety to Proficiency: A Pre- and Post-Assessment Study of Student Pitching Performance in Higher Education

This study explores how university students feel about their pitching and presentation skills before and after completing a formal pitching assessment for UHLB 3132 Professional Communication Skills 2 (PCS 2) course. This article aims to assess students' prior knowledge, expectations, and their confidence levels in pitching prior to the completion of the assessment and to evaluate students' ongoing challenges, self-assessed improvements, and perceived usefulness of pedagogical support after delivering their pitch. The pre-assessment survey was administered before the students started their pitching assessment, while the post-assessment survey was administered after they had completed the assessment. Data were gathered through two Google Form surveys from multiple faculties in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. The results show that most students had no previous pitching experience and were concerned about managing their nervousness and maintaining speech fluency, although post-assessment respondents generally felt confident during delivery. Teaching support and interactive in-class practice were perceived as helpful in building students’ confidence and developing their speaking skills.

Pitching Skills, Presentation Confidence, Higher Education, Student Self-Efficacy, Pedagogical Support

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